diff --git a/static/js/socket.js b/static/js/socket.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d88684f922
--- /dev/null
+++ b/static/js/socket.js
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+function Socket(url) {
+    this.url = url;
+    this._is_open = false;
+    this._is_authenticated = false;
+    this._send_queue = [];
+    this._next_req_id = 0;
+    this._requests = {};
+    this._connection_failures = 0;
+
+    this._is_unloading = false;
+    $(window).on("unload", function () {
+        this._is_unloading = true;
+    });
+
+    this._sockjs = new SockJS(url);
+    this._setup_sockjs_callbacks(this._sockjs);
+}
+
+Socket.prototype = {
+    send: function Socket_send(msg, success, error) {
+        if (! this._can_send()) {
+            this._send_queue.push({msg: msg, success: success, error: error});
+            return;
+        }
+
+        this._do_send('request', msg, success, error);
+    },
+
+    _do_send: function Socket__do_send(type, msg, success, error) {
+        var req_id = this._next_req_id;
+        this._next_req_id++;
+        this._requests[req_id] = {success: success, error: error};
+        // TODO: I think we might need to catch exceptions here for certain transports
+        this._sockjs.send(JSON.stringify({client_meta: {req_id: req_id},
+                                          type: type, request: msg}));
+    },
+
+    _can_send: function Socket__can_send() {
+        return this._is_open && this._is_authenticated;
+    },
+
+    _drain_queue_send: function Socket__drain_queue_send() {
+        var that = this;
+        var queue = this._send_queue;
+        this._send_queue = [];
+        _.each(queue, function (elem) {
+            that.send(elem.msg, elem.success, elem.error);
+        });
+    },
+
+    _drain_queue_error: function Socket__drain_queue_error() {
+        var that = this;
+        var queue = this._send_queue;
+        this._send_queue = [];
+        _.each(queue, function (elem) {
+            elem.error('connection');
+        });
+    },
+
+    _setup_sockjs_callbacks: function Socket__setup_sockjs_callbacks(sockjs) {
+        var that = this;
+        sockjs.onopen = function Socket__sockjs_onopen() {
+            that._is_open = true;
+
+            // We can only authenticate after the DOM has loaded because we need
+            // the CSRF token
+            $(function () {
+                that._do_send('auth', {csrf_token: csrf_token},
+                              function () {
+                                  that._is_authenticated = true;
+                                  that._connection_failures = 0;
+                                  that._drain_queue_send();
+                              },
+                              function (type, resp) {
+                                  blueslip.info("Could not authenticate with server: " + resp.msg);
+                                  that._try_to_reconnect();
+                              });
+            });
+        };
+
+        sockjs.onmessage = function Socket__sockjs_onmessage(event) {
+            var req_info = that._requests[event.data.client_meta.req_id];
+            if (req_info === undefined) {
+                blueslip.error("Got a response for an unknown request");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            if (event.data.response.result === 'success') {
+                req_info.success(event.data.response);
+            } else {
+                req_info.error('response', event.data.response);
+            }
+        };
+
+        sockjs.onclose = function Socket__sockjs_onclose() {
+            if (that._is_unloading) {
+                return;
+            }
+            blueslip.info("SockJS connection lost.  Attempting to reconnect soon.");
+            that._try_to_reconnect();
+        };
+    },
+
+    _try_to_reconnect: function Socket__try_to_reconnect() {
+        var that = this;
+        this._is_open = false;
+        this._is_authenticated = false;
+        this._connection_failures++;
+        this._drain_queue_error();
+
+        var wait_time;
+        if (this._connection_failures === 1) {
+            // We specify a non-zero timeout here so that we don't try to
+            // immediately reconnect when the page is refreshing
+            wait_time = 30;
+        } else {
+            wait_time = Math.min(90, Math.exp(this._connection_failures/2)) * 1000;
+        }
+
+        setTimeout(function () {
+            blueslip.info("Attempting reconnect.");
+            that._sockjs = new SockJS(that.url);
+            that._setup_sockjs_callbacks(that._sockjs);
+        }, wait_time);
+    }
+};
diff --git a/tools/jslint/check-all.js b/tools/jslint/check-all.js
index 638e6f3d2b..bcaa2007dd 100644
--- a/tools/jslint/check-all.js
+++ b/tools/jslint/check-all.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 var globals =
     // Third-party libraries
       ' $ _ jQuery Spinner Handlebars XDate zxcvbn Intl mixpanel Notification'
-    + ' LazyLoad Dropbox'
+    + ' LazyLoad Dropbox SockJS'
 
     // Node-based unit tests
     + ' module'
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ var globals =
     + ' invite ui util activity timerender MessageList MessageListView blueslip unread stream_list'
     + ' onboarding message_edit tab_bar emoji popovers navigate message_tour'
     + ' avatar feature_flags search_suggestion referral stream_color Dict'
-    + ' Filter summary admin stream_data muting WinChan muting_ui'
+    + ' Filter summary admin stream_data muting WinChan muting_ui Socket'
 
     // colorspace.js
     + ' colorspace'
diff --git a/zproject/settings.py b/zproject/settings.py
index 5d9b1e33b2..2ab581831c 100644
--- a/zproject/settings.py
+++ b/zproject/settings.py
@@ -367,6 +367,7 @@ JS_SPECS = {
             'js/reload.js',
             'js/notifications_bar.js',
             'js/compose_fade.js',
+            'js/socket.js',
             'js/compose.js',
             'js/stream_color.js',
             'js/admin.js',